Date? (4)

The date with Ethan… no, the weekend outing continued after that. Although the clothes I was wearing changed from a maid uniform to a red dress befitting a noble lady.

The maid uniform I had just been wearing, along with the other clothes bought at the shop, were scheduled to be delivered to the Academy Dormitory.

Perhaps because I changed clothes and walked around, the gazes directed at me felt a little less intense compared to a moment ago. Perhaps they were intentionally avoiding eye contact due to the awareness that I might truly be a noble lady.

If most were commoners and maids who couldn’t rise above the rank of baron at best, nothing much would happen just from staring for a long time, but for a woman who clearly appeared to be of noble status, since one couldn’t know if she was a baronet’s noble daughter or a border count’s daughter, it was beneficial for one’s well-being not to linger with one’s gaze.

Immediately after leaving the clothing store, the place Ethan took me was an ordinary Italian Restaurant. Of course, it didn’t mean there was a country called Italy in this world; it just meant the menu composition had that kind of feel.

A restaurant that served salad, grilled freshwater fish, light pasta, and a slightly sweet dessert as a post-meal treat, it was a decent enough place.

I hadn’t intended to complain or find fault no matter which restaurant he took me to, but even considering that, the restaurant Ethan brought me to was quite clean and had a pleasant atmosphere.

“Is it to your taste, Lilith?”

“Yes, Ethan. It’s a delicious and nice place.”

I wondered if he might order wine or try to create a confession-like atmosphere, but fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t brought me here with such an intention.

No, perhaps Ethan hadn’t even thought of a confession from the start, and I was just getting ahead of myself.

Please, let me just be a silly maid who doesn’t know her place. Rather than receiving an awkward confession that I couldn’t accept or reject, that would be much better.

“I heard you’ve been getting close with the young lady from the Blaze Viscount Family lately. Rumor has it that you two stick together for an hour after class, chatting about this and that.”

“It seems Miss Blaze lacks knowledge in spiritology, so I’m just helping her. Although Miss Blaze is the Head of the Magic Department, she doesn’t seem to be very popular with spirits.”

“…Indeed, Lilith did just make a contract with a sylphid recently.”

For reference, Sally and Sei did not join the date today. This was because they had consumed quite a lot of mana during yesterday’s Practical Monster Hunting.

Sally, being a high-level spirit, was fine, but Sei, a mid-level spirit, looked a bit tired, so I fed her plenty of mana and put her to sleep in the dormitory.

Since Sei remained in the dormitory, Sally, who is devoted to Sei, naturally also remained in the dormitory.

…Just leaving them separate from me for about a day, nothing troublesome should happen in the meantime.

“Speaking of which, Ethan, are you getting along well with your peers? I heard that Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt-nim has shown quite a bit of interest in Young Master.”

“…Well, I don’t particularly like that guy.”

“What?”

“He’s a guy with a bad reputation, so Lilith, you’d better not pay him any mind. He’s already the type to have two women around him, and recently, it seems he’s been bothering Natalie-yang and Princess-nim too.”

“Oh… I see….”

Well, getting close to Natalie must have been his goal from the moment he entered the Swordsmanship Department. In the middle of the story, the Natalie-Thomas couple combination is what can cover the protagonist’s lacking endurance.

And hovering around Princess-nim is probably a mandatory event. If clearing is the goal, he would definitely try to complete at least the mandatory events. If he accidentally skipped one and the later story got tangled, he wouldn’t be able to use the external knowledge he had.

While I could somewhat understand Ethan’s displeasure with Kyetmajosyegigot, for me, who knew the circumstances, this meaningless vigilance was simply regrettable.

‘Looking at this reaction, it seems the opportunity to make contact with Kyetmajosyegigot won’t come easily.’

First, I need to somehow resolve Ethan’s vigilance towards the protagonist, only then can I talk to him or do anything to gauge his true feelings.

And if he happens to think Ethan is a villain, I’ll clear up that misunderstanding too.

Anyway, talking about recent events in that manner, Ethan and I spent time taking a light stroll along the wide lake surrounding the Island of Knowledge.

In the relaxed atmosphere, which I hadn’t experienced in a long time, my mind also became a little calmer.

‘This is nice, this kind of time too.’

Since the second semester began, I suddenly had a lot of things to do, so lately, I’d had many headaches from various matters.

Perhaps I needed an opportunity to spend time leisurely like this.

Ethan, too, must have been quite busy recently in his own way, so he might have been wishing for this kind of time inwardly.

‘Did I really misunderstand this?’

The reason he asked me to spend time with him as Noble Lady Lilith must have simply been because he wanted to create a comfortable atmosphere.

If he felt like a maid was constantly by his side even on his rare day off, it might feel a bit stifling.

Indeed, if I think about it, he could confess to his exclusive maid anytime, anywhere.

If he had harbored strange feelings for me, I would have been assaulted long ago, ever since we started sharing the same dormitory.

It was definitely me who had unnecessarily imagined strange things, wondering if it was a date. Anyway, I really am too self-conscious.

In the process of my mind calming down, the complex worries I had been holding in my head also flew away, and thanks to that, my heart became even more at ease.

As we spent time like that, when the light lunch had somewhat digested, Ethan cautiously made a suggestion to me.

“…So, I introduced Sei, whom I contracted that day, to Miss Blaze, and she suddenly said something to me and ran off somewhere….”

“…Um, Lilith.”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind, would you like to rest for a bit on that bench over there?”

“Are you tired, Ethan?”

“Rather than being tired, I just found a cheese shop while passing by. I was wondering if we could take a short break and have a picnic, if you don’t mind.”

“…….”

I hadn’t thought much about it while we were talking, but after hearing Ethan’s words and becoming aware, I did feel a bit hungry.

It might be because my tension had eased and I felt relieved.

Just a moment ago, I had been on high alert, thinking Ethan might get caught up in the mood and confess to me.

Or perhaps the lunch itself was a light meal, and my stomach just emptied after a bit of walking.

“If that’s the case, I’ll go. Ethan, please rest for a moment.”

“Ah, no. Since I brought it up, I’ll….”

“Ethan paid for everything today, both at the clothing store and the restaurant, didn’t he? If that’s the case, I’d at least like to buy the snacks.”

“B-but….”

“Wasn’t it Ethan who told me to act like a noble lady? Or is the ideal noble lady Ethan desires a shameless young lady who never opens her wallet and just freeloads from beginning to end?”

“…Alright, Lilith. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Perhaps judging that further persuasion was meaningless given my firm attitude, Ethan finally nodded and allowed me to open my wallet.

Anyway, to have to persistently get permission just to buy a few snacks that cost next to nothing…

“I also saw the cheese shop when I walked by earlier. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, be careful on your way.”

After nodding slightly and replying to Ethan, I walked back a short distance along the promenade we had just come from.

It’s just inside the Island of Knowledge anyway, what kind of dangerous thing could possibly happen?

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Beautiful young lady, is there anything you need?”

“Could I have one slice each of Gouda and Cheddar cheese? Just enough for a simple snack will be fine.”

Listening to the cheese shop owner, whose arms were quite muscular, I ordered two types of sliced cheese displayed in front of the shop.

For me, who wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about food, the only cheeses I knew were Gouda and Cheddar. I hadn’t tried blue cheese raw yet, so I didn’t feel like challenging it. And it seemed like this shop didn’t sell Ricotta or Emmental.

“It seems you’re out for a picnic with your fiancée. I saw you pass by a moment ago.”

“Um… he’s not my fiancée. But we are planning to have a picnic.”

“Then is he a family member?”

“It’s not quite right to call him family… it’s a bit of a complicated relationship.”

“…Oh, I see.”

Well, not just at the Academy, but nobles generally often had various complicated family relationships.

Such as heirs brought in from other families to continue the lineage, or siblings not related by blood born through remarriages between noble families, or even children born from incest.

It was knowledge that would do no good to delve into unnecessarily.

And the commoners living on the Island of Knowledge, because they frequently encountered nobles, were quite perceptive in such matters.

The shop owner, who heard the words “complicated relationship,” seemed to become aware of my gaze after that, and quickly packaged the items I ordered and handed them to me.

“That’ll be two silver coins, young lady.”

“Thank you. Take care.”

“Have a good time!”

The bag, for containing just two slices of cheese, felt strangely heavy, as if something extra had been put in as a service.

It was an event that often occurred when one’s charm stat was high, so I didn’t think it was too strange. My charm had already surpassed triple digits after my recent level-up.

‘Usually in games like this, the heroine gets kidnapped when she’s separated from the protagonist.’

Of course, I had learned dagger techniques to some extent, so far from being kidnapped, anyone who dared to attack me would have to watch their own life.

In the inner pocket of my maid uniform, I always carried three daggers without fail….

‘…Oh, right.’

Now that I think about it, the daggers must have remained in the maid uniform when I changed clothes earlier.

I had intended to retrieve them when I changed back later, but I was so busy that I forgot to pick them up again.

…Well, it should be fine. Nothing will happen just because I don’t have my daggers.

Still, a strange sense of unease crept over me when the daggers were no longer in my possession, so for now, I returned to the lakeside bench, our meeting spot, while keeping a lookout.

Fortunately, no dangerous incidents occurred, such as encountering kidnappers or robbers along the way.

“Ah, Lilith. You’re here?”

“…Yes, Ethan.”

“Why are you walking so uneasily? Did you encounter someone strange…?”

“No, Ethan. It’s nothing, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

If he heard that I became uneasy because the daggers disappeared from my possession, what would Ethan think?

Thinking that, the moment I approached Ethan, holding the paper bag with the cheese, a long cork bottle in his hand caught my eye.

The moment I saw that, my vigilance towards Ethan, which I had temporarily let go of, was reactivated.

“What is that, Ethan?”

“Oh, this? I bought it while Lilith went to get snacks. It felt a bit empty without something to drink, and wine seemed appropriate for cheese.”

“…I see. So, alcohol….”

“Lilith, you’ll drink some too, right?”

“…Yes, well. Since it’s Ethan’s goodwill, I naturally should.”

…Forget about kidnapping events or anything else, the real target I should be wary of might be someone else entirely.